6-6 Utah Opens As 5-Point Favorites Over Mountaineers
Sean Taylor
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This tells a story of how the Mountaineers have fared against quality opposition this season. 6-6 Utah opens as 5-point favorites over the Mountaineers, according to the Las Vegas Superbook. West Virginia went 7-5 this season.
Sure, the health of Will Grier surely played a role in this line, but this is a team that went 3-6 in Pac 12 play and Vegas expects them to defeat West Virginia. The line could move, especially if Grier is cleared to play, but it still tells a story.
.@LVSuperBook lines
Bama -2 Clemson
OU -1 Georgia
Auburn -10 UCF
Wis -6 1/2 UM
OhioSt -7 USC
PennSt -3 UW
Mich -8 1/2 SCarolina
Memphis -3 ISU
OkSt -6 1/2 VT
TCU -2 1/2 Stanford
LSU -2 1/2 ND
Oregon -6 1/2 Boise
FSU -15 USM
Mizz-1 UT
Utah -5 WVU
WSU -2 1/2 MSU
USF -2 Texas Tech— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 4, 2017
Utah is 10-1 in bowls under coach Kyle Whittingham. Dana Holgorsen has a 2-3 record in bowls during his time at West Virginia.
Utah was able to go on the road for a win against Arizona. The Mountaineers best wins of the season were a win at home over Iowa State and a successful trip to Manhattan to take down the Kansas State Wildcats who have gave the Mountaineers fits in recent years.
A win in the Heart of Dallas Bowl would give the Mountaineers momentum heading into the 2018 season. With the duo of Will Grier and David Sills both having a year of eligibility left, it could be the season where the Mountaineers are able to take the next step and content for the Big 12 title.